” China and 20 other countries signed a memorandum on Friday agreeing to create an international development bank that Beijing hopes will rival organizations like the World Bank. But some leading Asian countries refrained from joining the project, which the United States has been quietly lobbying against.

Japan, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia were not represented at the signing ceremony for the bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in Beijing. India joined the bank, along with Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, news agencies reported.”

“The bank, proposed a year ago by President Xi Jinping of China, is to offer financing for infrastructure projects in underdeveloped countries across Asia. China, which has promised to contribute much of the initial $50 billion in capital, sees it as a way to increase its influence in the region after years of fruitless lobbying for more say in other multinational lending organizations.”

“But the United States, with allies like Australia and South Korea, has campaigned against the project, characterizing it as an attempt to undercut the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which are dominated by the United States and Japan.”

“As a former member of the United Nations security council, and the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew’s Public Policy department, Mahbubani has been a keen observer of the changing tide in Asian and Western politics. The book “New Asian Hemisphere: the irresistible shift of global power” shows some of his main ideas and opinions about such observations. It is basically criticising the West and insisting that their practice of the value they are pressing on to the rest of the world such as democracy, the rule of law and social justice is corrupted in many ways. He states in his book that the system of global politics and international institutions such as the United Nations and IMF are created to benefit the West. He believes that these institutions should make rule for rising Asian powers and claims that though the West may be fearful of Asia’s rise, it should accept them and co-operate. Furthermore he is largely supportive of China and their method of globalisation and implies that they are doing everything right to become an even more powerful nation.”

“Huntington suggests that in the future the central axis of world politics tends to be the conflict between Western and non-Western civilizations, in Kishore Mahbubani‘s phrase, the conflict between “the West and the Rest.” He offers three forms of general actions that non-Western civilization can take in response to Western countries.

Non-Western countries can attempt to achieve isolation in order to preserve their own values and protect themselves from Western invasion. However, Huntington argues that the costs of this action is high and only a few states can pursue it.

According to the theory of “band-wagoning” non-Western countries can join and accept Western values.

Non-Western countries can make an effort to balance Western power through modernization. They can develop economic, military power and cooperate with other non-Western countries against the West while still preserving their own values and institutions. Huntington believes that the increasing power of non-Western civilizations in international society will make the West begin to develop a better understanding of the cultural fundamentals underlying other civilizations. Therefore, Western civilization will cease to be regarded as “universal” but different civilizations will learn to coexist and join to shape the future world.”

“The phrase itself was earlier used by Bernard Lewis in an article in the September 1990 issue of The Atlantic Monthlytitled “The Roots of Muslim Rage”. Even earlier, the phrase appears in a 1926 book regarding the Middle East by Basil Mathews: Young Islam on Trek: A Study in the Clash of Civilizations (p. 196).This expression derives from clash of cultures, already used during the colonial period and the Belle Époque.“

“Russia and India are what Huntington terms ‘swing civilizations’ and may favor either side. Russia, for example, clashes with the many Muslim ethnic groups on its southern border (such as Chechnya) but—according to Huntington—cooperates with Iran to avoid further Muslim-Orthodox violence in Southern Russia, and to help continue the flow of oil. Huntington argues that a “Sino-Islamic connection” is emerging in which China will cooperate more closely with Iran, Pakistan, and other states to augment its international position.Huntington also argues that civilizational conflicts are “particularly prevalent between Muslims and non-Muslims”, identifying the “bloody borders” between Islamic and non-Islamic civilizations. This conflict dates back as far as the initial thrust of Islam into Europe, its eventual expulsion in the Iberian reconquest and the attacks of the Ottoman Turks on Eastern Europe and Vienna. Huntington also believes that some of the factors contributing to this conflict are that both Christianity (which has influenced Western civilization) and Islam are:

Missionary religions, seeking conversion of others

Universal, “all-or-nothing” religions, in the sense that it is believed by both sides that only their faith is the correct one

Teleological religions, that is, that their values and beliefs represent the goals of existence and purpose in human existence.

Religions that perceive irreligious people who violate the base principles of those religions to be furthering their own pointless aims, which leads to violent interactions.

More recent factors contributing to a Western-Islamic clash, Huntington wrote, are the Islamic Resurgence and demographic explosion in Islam, coupled with the values of Western universalism—that is, the view that all civilizations should adopt Western values—that infuriate Islamic fundamentalists. All these historical and modern factors combined, Huntington wrote briefly in his Foreign Affairs article and in much more detail in his 1996 book, would lead to a bloody clash between the Islamic and Western civilizations. The political party Hizb ut-Tahrir also reiterate Huntington’s views in their published book, The Inevitability of Clash of Civilisation.”

“Islamist views emphasize the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law); of pan-Islamic political unity; and of the selective removal of non-Muslim, particularly Western military, economic, political, social, or cultural influences in the Muslim world that they believe to be incompatible with Islam.”

“Moderate and reformist Islamists who accept and work within the democratic process include parties like the Tunisian Ennahda Movement. Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan is basically a socio-political and democratic Vanguard party but has also gained political influence through military coup d’état in past.The Islamist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine participate in democratic and political process as well as armed attacks, seeking to abolish the state of Israel. Radical Islamist organizations like al-Qaeda and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and groups such as the Taliban, entirely reject democracy, often declaring as kuffar those Muslims who support it (see takfirism), as well as calling for violent jihad or urging and conducting attacks on a religious basis.”“Another major division within Islamism is between what Graham E. Fuller has described as the fundamentalist “guardians of the tradition” (Salafis, such as those in the Wahhabi movement) and the “vanguard of change and Islamic reform” centered around the Muslim Brotherhood. Olivier Roy argues that “Sunni pan-Islamism underwent a remarkable shift in the second half of the 20th century” when the Muslim Brotherhood movement and its focus on Islamisation of pan-Arabismwas eclipsed by the Salafi movement with its emphasis on “sharia rather than the building of Islamic institutions,” and rejection of Shia Islam. Following the Arab Spring, Roy has described Islamism as “increasingly interdependent” with democracy in much of the Arab Muslim world, such that “neither can now survive without the other.” While Islamist political culture itself may not be democratic, Islamists need democratic elections to maintain their legitimacy. At the same time, their popularity is such that no government can call itself democratic that excludes mainstream Islamist groups.”

“Islamist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, “are well known for providing shelters, educational assistance, free or low cost medical clinics, housing assistance to students from out of town, student advisory groups, facilitation of inexpensive mass marriage ceremonies to avoid prohibitively costly dowry demands, legal assistance, sports facilities, and women’s groups.” All this compares very favourably against incompetent, inefficient, or neglectful governments whose commitment to social justice is limited to rhetoric.”

The memory in Muslim societies of the many centuries of “cultural and institutional success” of Islamic civilization that have created an “intense resistance to an alternative ‘civilizational order'”, such as Western civilization,

The proximity of the core of the Muslim world to Europe and Christendom where it first conquered and then was conquered. Iberia in the seventh century, the Crusades which began in the eleventh century, then for centuries the Ottoman Empire, were all fields of war between Europe and Islam.

The Islamic world was aware of European fear and hatred:

For almost a thousand years, from the first Moorish landing in Spain to the second Turkish siege of Vienna, Europe was under constant threat from Islam. In the early centuries it was a double threat — not only of invasion and conquest, but also of conversion and assimilation. All but the easternmost provinces of the Islamic realm had been taken from Christian rulers, and the vast majority of the first Muslims west of Iran and Arabia were converts from Christianity … Their loss was sorely felt and it heightened the fear that a similar fate was in store for Europe.

and also felt its own anger and resentment at the much more recent technological superiority of westerners who,

are the perpetual teachers; we, the perpetual students. Generation after generation, this asymmetry has generated an inferiority complex, forever exacerbated by the fact that their innovations progress at a faster pace than we can absorb them. … The best tool to reverse the inferiority complex to a superiority complex … Islam would give the whole culture a sense of dignity.

For Islamists, the primary threat of the West is cultural rather than political or economic. Cultural dependency robs one of faith and identity and thus destroys Islam and the Islamic community (ummah) far more effectively than political rule.

The end of the Cold War and Soviet occupation of Afghanistan has eliminated the common atheist Communist enemy uniting some religious Muslims and the capitalist west.

The Arab world – the original heart of the Muslim world – has been afflicted with economic stagnation. For example, it has been estimated that in the mid 1990s the exports of Finland, a European country of five million, exceeded those of the entire Arab world of 260 million, excluding oil revenue. This economic stagnation is argued to have commenced with the demise of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, with trade networks being disrupted and societies torn apart with the creation of new nation states; prior to this, the Middle East had a diverse and growing economy and more general prosperity.

Strong population growth combined with economic stagnation has created urban conglomerations in Cairo, Istanbul, Tehran, Karachi, Dhaka, and Jakarta each with well over 12 million citizens, millions of them young and unemployed or underemployed. Such a demographic, alienated from the westernized ways of the urban elite, but uprooted from the comforts and more passive traditions of the villages they came from, is understandably favourably disposed to an Islamic system promising a better world– an ideology providing an “emotionally familiar basis for group identity, solidarity, and exclusion; an acceptable basis for legitimacy and authority; an immediately intelligible formulation of principles for both a critique of the present and a program for the future.”

“The U.S. government has engaged in efforts to counter Islamism, or violent Islamism, since 2001. These efforts were centred in the U.S. around public diplomacy programmes conducted by the State Department. There have been calls to create an independent agency in the U.S. with a specific mission of undermining Islamism and jihadism. Christian Whiton, an official in the George W. Bush administration, called for a new agency focused on the nonviolent practice of “political warfare” aimed at undermining the ideology. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for establishing something similar to the defunct U.S. Information Agency, which was charged with undermining the communist ideology during the Cold War.”

“As a generalization, it can be said that Christian democratic parties in Europe tend to be moderately conservative, and in several cases form the main conservative party in their respective countries (e.g. in Germany, Spain, and Belgium). In Latin America, by contrast, Christian democratic parties tend to be progressive and to some degree influenced by liberation theology. These generalizations, however, must be nuanced by the consideration that Christian democracy does not fit precisely into the usual categories of political thought, but rather includes elements common to several other political ideologies:

In common with conservatism, traditional moral values (on marriage, abortion, etc.), opposition to secularization, a view of the evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) development of society, an emphasis on law and order, and a rejection of communism.

In contrast to conservatism, open to change (for example, in the structure of society) and not necessarily supportive of the social status quo.

In common with liberalism, an emphasis on human rights and individual initiative.

In contrast to liberalism, a rejection of secularism, and an emphasis on the fact that the individual is part of a community and has duties towards it.

In common with socialism, an emphasis on the community, social justice and solidarity, support for a welfare state and support for regulation of market forces.

In contrast to socialism, most European Christian Democrats support a market economy and do not adhere to the concept of class struggle. This has not always carried over to some Latin American Christian Democratic Parties, which have been influenced by liberation theology.

Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood have noted that “Christian democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles.”Christian democrats are usually socially conservative, and, as such, generally have a relatively skeptical stance towards abortion and same-sex marriage, though some Christian democratic parties have accepted the limited legalization of both. Christian democratic parties are often likely to assert the Christian heritage of their country, and to affirm explicitly Christian ethics, rather than adopting a more liberal or secular stance.On economic issues, Christian democrats normally do not completely oppose capitalism as an economic system, unlike their repudiation of atheistic communism and similar ideologies, though they do see the economy as being at the service of humanity. The duty of the state towards society is of real importance for Christian democrats, though some would see this duty as being mostly to create the conditions for civil society to flourish, while others would see it as a more direct duty of the state towards citizens. In recent decades, some right-leaning Christian democratic parties in Europe have adopted policies consistent with an economically liberal point of view but still support a regulated economy with a welfare state, while by contrast other Christian democrats at times seem to hold views similar to Christian socialism.”

“Liberation theology is a Christian response to the conditions of poverty in Roman Catholic theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in relation to a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions. It has been described as “an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor’s suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor”. Detractors have called it Christianized Marxism.”

“The influence of liberation theology diminished after proponents were accused of using “Marxist concepts” leading to admonishment by the Vatican‘s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in 1984 and 1986. The Vatican criticized certain strains of liberation theology for focusing on institutionalized or systemic sin, apparently to the exclusion of individual offenders and offences; and for identifying Catholic Church hierarchy in South America as members of the same privileged class that had long been oppressing indigenous populations since the arrival of Pizarro onward.”

“Secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutionsand religious dignitaries. One manifestation of secularism is asserting the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, or, in a state declared to be neutral on matters of belief, from the imposition by government of religion or religious practices upon its people. Another manifestation of secularism is the view that public activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be uninfluenced by religious beliefs and/or practices.”

“The word laïcité (laicity) has been used, from the end of the 19th century on, to mean the freedom of public institutions, especially primary schools, from the influence of the Catholic Church in countries where it had retained its influence, in the context of a secularizationprocess. Today, the concept covers other religious movements as well.”

“Supporters argue that Laïcité by itself does not necessarily imply any hostility of the government with respect to religion. It is best described as a belief that government and political issues should be kept separate from religious organizations and religious issues (as long as the latter do not have notable social consequences). This is meant to protect both the government from any possible interference from religious organizations, and to protect the religious organization from political quarrels and controversies.”

“Critics of laïcité argue that it is a disguised form of anti-clericalism and infringement on individual right to religious expression, and that, instead of promoting freedom of thought and freedom of religion, it prevents the believer from observing his or her religion.”

“Another critique is that, in countries historically dominated by one religious tradition, officially avoiding taking any positions on religious matters favors the dominant religious tradition of the relevant country. Even in the current French Fifth Republic (1958–), school holidays mostly follow the Christian liturgical year, though Easter holidays have been replaced by Spring holidays which may or may not include Easter, depending on the vagaries of the liturgical calendar. However, schools have long given leave to students for important holidays of their specific non-majority religions, and food menus served in secondary schools pay particular attention to ensuring that each religious observer may respect his religion’s specific restrictions concerning diets. To counter the traditional influence of Christian festivals educationalists in line with market forces have often promoted references to Santa Claus, Valentines and Halloween, particularly at primary school level.”

“Other countries, following in the French model, have forms of Laïcité – examples include Mexico and Turkey.“

“In the United States there have been various attempts to create Christian democratic parties, similar to their European and Latin American counterparts, but efforts have generally run against the formidable strength of the existing bipartisan Republican/Democratic party system. One such party, the Christian Democratic Party USA, recently changed its name to the American Solidarity Party. The name is based on the Polish Solidarity Movement, whose first chairman was Lech Walesa. The Party has incorporated the Consistent Life Ethic into its platform. Its emblem is the Pelican, a traditional Christian symbol of charity.”

“The self-sacrificial aspect of the pelican was reinforced by the widely read mediaeval bestiaries. The device of “a pelican in her piety” or “a pelican vulning (from Latin vulno to wound) herself” was used in heraldry. An older version of the myth is that the pelican used to kill its young then resurrect them with its blood, again analogous to the sacrifice of Jesus. Likewise a folktale from India says that a pelican killed her young by rough treatment but was then so contrite that she resurrected them with her own blood.”

“Pelicans have featured extensively in heraldry, generally using the Christian symbolism of the pelican as a caring and self-sacrificing parent. The image became linked to the medieval religious feast of Corpus Christi.”

“The pelican (Henet in Egyptian) was associated in Ancient Egypt with death and the afterlife. It was depicted in art on the walls of tombs, and figured in funerary texts, as a protective symbol against snakes. Henet was also referred to in the Pyramid Texts as the “mother of the king” and thus seen as a goddess. References in non-royal funerary papyrishow that the pelican was believed to possess the ability to prophesy safe passage in the underworld for someone who had died.”

Maybe the Christian “Pelican”(the Egyptian “Henet”) is the answer to modern day I.S.I.S./I.S.I.L. (which acts more like the Old Egyptian “Set”and/or “Apep” than its namesake “Isis”)….

“Set /sɛt/ or Seth (/sɛθ/; also spelled Setesh, Sutekh, Setekh, or Suty) is a god of the desert, storms, disorder, violence and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In Ancient Greek, the god’s name is given as Sēth (Σήθ). Set is not, however, a god to be ignored or avoided; he has a positive role where he is employed by Ra on his solar boat to repel the serpent of Chaos Apep. Set had a vital role as a reconciled combatant. He was lord of the red (desert) land where he was the balance to Horus’ role as lord of the black (soil) land.“

“In Egyptian mythology, Set is portrayed as the usurper who killed and mutilated his own brother Osiris. Osiris’ wife Isisreassembled Osiris’ corpse and resurrected him long enough to conceive his son and heir Horus. Horus sought revenge upon Set, and the myths describe their conflicts. The death of Osiris and the battle between Horus and Set is a popular theme in Egyptian mythology.”

Today’s Major Civilizational Conflicts are between Individualism and Collectivism on one hand, and High and Low Context Cultures on the other……

“Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one’s goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance and advocate that interests of the individual should achieve precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one’s own interests by society or institutions such as the government.“

“Individualism makes the individual its focus and so starts “with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation.” Liberalism, existentialism and anarchism are examples of movements that take the human individual as a central unit of analysis. Individualism thus involves “the right of the individual to freedom and self-realization”.”

“It has also been used as a term denoting “The quality of being an individual; individuality” related to possessing “An individual characteristic; a quirk.” Individualism is thus also associated with artistic and bohemian interests and lifestyles where there is a tendency towards self-creation and experimentation as opposed to tradition or popular mass opinions and behaviors as so also with humanist philosophical positions and ethics.“

“Collectivism is any philosophic, political, religious, economic, or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human. Collectivism is a basic cultural element that exists as the reverse of individualism in human nature (in the same way high context cultureexists as the reverse of low context culture). Collectivist orientations stress the importance of cohesion within social groups (such as an “in-group”, in what specific context it is defined) and in some cases, the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists often focus on community, society, nation or country. It has been used as an element in many different and diverse types of government and political, economic and educational philosophies throughout history and most human societies in practice contain elements of both individualism and collectivism. Some examples of collectivist cultures include Pakistan, India and Japan.”“Collectivism can be divided into horizontal (or egalitarian) collectivism and vertical (or hierarchical) collectivism. Horizontal collectivism stresses collective decision-making among equal individuals, and is thus usually based on decentralization and egalitarianism. Vertical collectivism is based on hierarchical structures of power and on moral and cultural conformity, and is therefore based on centralization and hierarchy. A cooperative enterprise would be an example of horizontal collectivism, whereas a military hierarchy would be an example of vertical collectivism.”

“High-context culture and the contrasting low-context culture are terms presented by the anthropologistEdward T. Hall in his 1976 book Beyond Culture. It refers to a culture’s tendency to use high-context messages over low-context messages in routine communication. This choice of speaking styles translates into a culture that will cater to in-groups, an in-group being a group that has similar experiences and expectations, from which inferences are drawn. In a higher-context culture, many things are left unsaid, letting the culture explain. Words and word choice become very important in higher-context communication, since a few words can communicate a complex message very effectively to an in-group (but less effectively outside that group), while in a low-context culture, the communicator needs to be much more explicit and the value of a single word is less important.”

“A cultural context does not rank as “high” or “low” in an absolute sense because each message can be presented on a continuum from high to low. Likewise, a culture (French Canadian) may be of a higher context than one (English Canadian) but lower context than another (Spanish or French). Likewise, a stereotypical individual from Texas (a higher-context culture) may communicate more with a few words or use of a prolonged silence, than a stereotypical New Yorker who is being very explicit, although both being part of a culture which is lower context overall. Typically a high-context culture will be relational, collectivist, intuitive, and contemplative. They place a high value on interpersonal relationships and group members are a very close knit community.”

“While the milieu of individuals in a culture can be diverse, and not all individuals can be described by strict stereotypes, understanding the broad tendencies of predominant cultures can help inform and educate ourselves on how to better facilitate communication between individuals of differing cultures. The following spectrum of levels of context in various cultures was determined in 1986 by Copeland & L. Griggs:”

“Higher-context cultures tend to be more common in the Asiancultures than in European, and in countries with low racial diversity. Cultures where the group/community is valued over the individual promote the in-groups and group reliance/support that favour higher-context cultures. Coexisting subcultures are also conducive to higher context situations, where the small group relies on their common background to explain the situation, rather than words. A lower-context culture tends to explain things further, and it is thought that this may be related to the need to accommodate individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds.”

“Higher-context cultures tend to correlate with cultures that also have a strong sense of tradition and history, and change little over time.For example, Native Americans in the United States have higher-context cultures with a strong sense of tradition and history. The focus on tradition creates opportunities for higher context messages between individuals of each new generation. This is in contrast to lower-context cultures in which the shared experiences upon which communication is built can change drastically from one generation to the next, creating communication gaps between parents and children, as in the United States.”

“A high-context joke from a high-context culture will not translate well to someone of a different culture, even another high-context culture. Humor is very contextual, as a joke may not be considered very funny if it seems like it is over-explained using only low-context messages.”

“An individual moving to a higher or lower-context culture may need to adapt and/or be accommodated in ways different from moving within cultures of similar context.”

“An individual from a higher-context culture may need to adapt and/or be accommodated when shifting to a low-context culture. A lower-context culture expects many relationships, but fewer intimate ones. A high context individual is more likely to ask for assistance rather than attempt to work out a solution independently, and assistance is likely to be asked from the same few people. The high context person may be frustrated by people appearing to not want to develop a relationship or continue to help them on an ongoing basis. The term “hand-holding” might be used to describe high context individuals in an unintentionally derogatory sense.”

“An individual from a low-context culture needs to adapt and/or be accommodated when shifting to a higher-context culture. Higher-context cultures expect small, close-knit groups, and reliance on that group. Groups can actually be relied upon to support each other, and it may be difficult to get support outside of your group. Professional and personal lives often intertwine. A lower context individual may be more likely to try to work things out on their own and feel there is a lack of self-service support or information, rather than ask questions and take time to develop the relationships needed to accomplish the things that need to be done.”

“Though all human societies contain elements of both individualism and collectivism by definition (if not they would become unstable), some societies are on the whole more collectivist and some on the whole more individualist. In collectivist societies, the group is considered more important than any one individual and groups in such societies are expected to “take care” of their members and individuals are expected to “take care” of the group (usually called an “in-group”) that they are a member of. Harmony within these groups is considered paramount. For example, it may be considered “inappropriate” for a member of an in-group to openly criticize another in public (though they are often allowed to do so in private). Collectivism does have its advantages as compared to individualist societies as people in collectivist societies almost always have access to a “group” and as such are known to be considered “happier”, “less lonely”, and have lower rates of mental illness in studies done by psychologists and political scientists. People in individual societies are known to feel “lonely” at some times or another compared to their collectivist counterparts. Many people also find it easier, to live in a society where social harmony is stressed and groups by definition remain more cohesive than in individualist societies where groups are observed to be inherently less stable.”

“However, it depends on the preference of an individual if they wish to live in a collectivist society like Japan or an individualist one like the United States. One type could not be said to be better than another and both are known to come into existence naturally as a consequence of human nature.”

“The anarchist writer and bohemian Oscar Wilde wrote in his famous essay The Soul of Man under Socialism that “Art is individualism, and individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating force. There lies its immense value. For what it seeks is to disturb monotony of type, slavery of custom, tyranny of habit, and the reduction of man to the level of a machine.” For anarchist historian George Woodcock “Wilde’s aim in The Soul of Man under Socialism is to seek the society most favorable to the artist…for Wilde art is the supreme end, containing within itself enlightenment and regeneration, to which all else in society must be subordinated…Wilde represents the anarchist as aesthete.” “

“The word individualism in this way has been used to denote a personality with a strong tendency towards self-creation and experimentation as opposed to tradition or popular mass opinions and behaviors..”

CDC Safety Training Course for Healthcare Workers Going to West Africa in Response to the 2014 Ebola Outbreak has only one “caveat”, the Training should be extended to “any” workers, including medical and cleaning/maintenance personnel in a potential position to interface with Ebola and/or its aftermath……..

Ultimately, specialized training courses based on this course should be developed to suit more closely the different workers circumstances……

US FEMA & CDCP are catching up with a fabled historical reputation for handling such situations, “Better late Than Never”…….;+)

We are witnessing the epiphany (the realization) that the Ebola prophylaxis is in the Process, the Exacting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to Implement It, the Training about Them and Their Enforcement……Duh! ;+)

“”We need to increase the margin of safety,” Frieden said. He described it as an “almost ritualistic” approach. Gear must be wiped down with a virus-killing wipe before it comes off, and everyone will be told to take a shower after they get the PPE off, he said.”

“Health care workers are at especially high risk of catching Ebola because they are in very close contact with patients who are vomiting, sweating profusely and suffering diarrhea from the virus. Virus-laden droplets can get onto hands and into the eyes, nose and mouth if caregivers don’t take the gear off precisely.”

“The enhanced guidance is centered on three principles: All healthcare workers undergo rigorous training and are practiced and competent with PPE, including taking it on and off in a systemic manner; No skin exposure when PPE is worn; All workers are supervised by a trained monitor who watches each worker taking PPE on and off,” CDC said in a statement.”

“All patients treated at Emory University Hospital, Nebraska Medical Center and the NIH Clinical Center have followed the three principles. None of the workers at these facilities have contracted the illness.”

“t’s not so much which particular equipment is used, says Frieden. More important is that it is used correctly.
“Anybody who is going to work with them is going to be trained in and demonstrate competency in anything they are going to be putting on and taking off,” Frieden said. “Second, no skin may be exposed when PPE (personal protective equipment) is worn,” he added. Every nurse, doctor or technician putting on or taking off PPE must be watched by another trained expert.”

It may be important to stress the lack of infrastructure in the field, in Africa, compounded by lack of training and lack of supplies……..:+(

One thing the picture is emphasizing, in showing US military personnel PPE (the “space suit’)training for Ebola is “discipline” in SOPs, which should be no problem for people used to disarm IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in the worst uncomfortable situations…….(BTW, Ebola could be seen as a new “biological” form of IED).

“A device incorporating biological materials designed to result in the dispersal of vector borne biological material for the purpose of creating a primary patho-physiological toxic effect (morbidity and mortality), or secondary psychological effect (causing fear and behavior modification) on a larger population. Such devices are fabricated in a completely improvised manner.”

“Hurrah!” if you are a US MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) “0311 – Basic Rifleman””grunt” ;+) (Oorah! if you are a USMC personnel “Jarhead”) ;+)

There is no surprise that all this Ebola situation is a “clusterfuck””charlie foxtrot”” “SNAFU” (Situation Normal, All Fucked Up”) but hopefully NOT “FUBAR” (Fucked Up Beyond All Repair)……;+)

So much for contingency planning and not enforcing your own BioSafety Level-4/P-4………:+(

Make no mistake, it is not a lack of knowledge issue, it is a case of carelessness, irresponsibility and false hope that by sweeping the issues under the carpet they will go away, supposedly for politically correct (PC) reasons of trying to avert public panic and allow the survival of Ebola stricken nations who would be “fragilized” by a “quarantine’…:+(

As if the Ebola stricken countries are not already sufficiently “fragilized” by their own making ,recurring social instability……:+(

Is it really just a coincidence ????? I doubt it!!!!……..:+(

“Since independence, (since 1974, (1974-2014), forty (40) years) West Africa’s nations are entirely autonomous. Many West African nations have been submerged under political instability, with notable civil wars in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso.Since the end of colonialism, the region has been the stage for some of the most brutal conflicts ever to erupt. Among the latter are:

“The CDC announced “new” Ebola protocols for health care workers including requiring all skin to be covered. ”

“The head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response said Sunday that the global community could not anticipate the spread of the disease. In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Anthony Banbury told Chuck Todd that the circumstances surrounding the outbreak were unprecedented.”

“”The world was not prepared for an outbreak of Ebola like this nature,” said Banbury. “We had never seen it before spreading in wide geographical areas, spreading in urban settings, densely populated urban settings.”
“The previous outbreaks had been small and localized. Here it spread real fast, the world wasn’t prepared, U.N., governments, populations and now we’re catching up.””

““[We need] people to manage these complex health Ebola treatment units as well as the doctors, nurses, hygienists, to staff them,” he said. “We’re fighting against a war against Ebola. We need soldiers on the ground. But instead of soldiers in camouflage, we need soldiers in lab coats and PPE suits taking care of the victims.””

“A contingency plan is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan.It is often used for risk management when an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences. Contingency plans are often devised by governments or businesses. For example, suppose many employees of a company are traveling together on an aircraft which crashes, killing all aboard. The company could be severely strained or even ruined by such a loss. Accordingly, many companies have procedures to follow in the event of such a disaster. The plan may also include standing policies to mitigate a disaster’s potential impact, such as requiring employees to travel separately or limiting the number of employees on any one aircraft.”

“During times of crisis, contingency plans are often developed to explore and prepare for any eventuality. During the Cold War, many governments made contingency plans to protect themselves and their citizens from nuclear attack. Examples of contingency plans designed to inform citizens of how to survive a nuclear attack are the booklets Survival Under Atomic Attack, Protect and Survive, and Fallout Protection, which were issued by the British and American governments. Today there are still contingency plans in place to deal with terrorist attacks or other catastrophes.”

“This level is required for work with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections, agents which cause severe to fatal disease in humans for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Lassa virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and various other hemorrhagic diseases. This level is also used for work with agents such as smallpoxthat are considered dangerous enough to require the additional safety measures, regardless of vaccination availability. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a positive pressure personnel suit, with a segregated air supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a level four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors from opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a biosafety level 4 (or P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release.”

“Agents with a close or identical antigenic relationship to biosafety level 4 agents are handled at this level until sufficient data are obtained either to confirm continued work at this level, or to work with them at a lower level.Members of the laboratory staff have specific and thorough training in handling extremely hazardous infectious agents and they understand the primary and secondary containment functions of the standard and special practices, the containment equipment, and the laboratory design characteristics. They are supervised by qualified scientists who are trained and experienced in working with these agents. Access to the laboratory is strictly controlled by the laboratory director.”

“The facility is either in a separate building or in a controlled area within a building, which is completely isolated from all other areas of the building. A specific facility operations manual is prepared or adopted. Building protocols for preventing contamination often use negatively pressurized facilities, which, even if compromised, would severely inhibit an outbreak of aerosol pathogens.”

“Within work areas of the facility, all activities are confined to Class III biological safety cabinets, or Class II biological safety cabinets used with one-piece positive pressure personnel suits ventilated by a life support system.”

Like I already said in another previous post, running a full BSL-4 protocol in a Low Developing Country (LDC) with (1) very little planning and coordination in execution discipline;(2)with very little air conditioning and very few full “space suits” with respirators and A/C;(3)consequently “profuse””sweaT” as a body fluid is a major factor, as the towels used and potentially shared to wipe that sweat due to lack of individual towel supplies and/or human factors errors…………:+(

All of these can be corrected by stopping the “polital correctness (PC)””delusion” and starting the enforcement of A/Change ADKAR (Awareness of the need for change, Desire for the change, Knowledge of the necessary change, Ability to change, Reinforcement of the change implemented);B/(1)appropriate process clearly indicating the end-state “smart” (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) objective;(2) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) implementing that process;(3) proper equipment supplies supporting this process functions, tasks, sub-tasks, motions and sub-motions;(4)the appropriate training supporting this process;(5)independent verification & validation and continuous improvement process roll-out set up……….;+)

“A lame duck is an elected official who is approaching the end of his or her tenure, especially one whose successor has already been elected.(at least in the mind of the electorate…..)”

“The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and its arrival in the United States, is the latest in a cascade of crises that have stretched Mr. Obama’s national security staff thin. As the White House scrambled to stop the spread of Ebola beyond a handful of cases, officials were also grappling with an escalating military campaign against the Islamic State, the specter of a new Cold War with Russia over Ukraine, and the virtual disintegration of Yemen, which has been a seedbed for Al Qaeda.”
“Senior officials said they pushed Mr. Obama to name an Ebola coordinator as a way of easing pressure on the staff at the National Security Council.”

“Today, we have an Ebola czar but no surgeon general. There is an acting surgeon general, Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, but in light of the Ebola outbreak and panic, he hasn’t stepped up in the way a confirmed surgeon general would be expected to. The public face of the Ebola response has, instead, become Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose efforts have come under criticism since two nurses contracted the disease from contact with a patient being treated in Dallas.”

“Reassuring the nation over health issues should be the job of the surgeon general, who, as the “nation’s doctor,” is supposed to inform Americans about diseases and allay their fears about catching them.”

““Part of the challenge is to be assertive, to be in command, and yet not feed a kind of panic that could easily evolve here,” said David Axelrod, a close adviser to the president in his first term. “It’s not enough to doggedly and persistently push for answers in meetings. You have to be seen doggedly and persistently pushing for answers.””

“The “Ebola Czar” appointment followed the president’s statement Thursday that the job was necessary “just to make sure that we are crossing all the t’s and dotting all the i’s going forward.”

Unfortunately, if you ask any successful “crisis/conflict manager”, the most important is the “process” “already in place”, not, the people who are panicking in rushing to use it.

Especially when the “process” doesn’t, or barely, exist, and, the people have no clue about it, as they never have been trained on it………:+(

BTW, where is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ?????..

It seems FEMA has two (2) strikes for a new reorganization after the New Orleans Katrina debacle and now Dallas Ebola……:+(

CDC is following close behind…..:+(

God forbids the US gets another Nuclear, Biological, Chemical strike with such lack of “process” competence…..:+(

Really, makes you wonder about the “wackos” “preppers” reasons validity……:+(

In conflicts and combat, and, unfortunately, make no mistake, this is one, there is such a disastrous thing as “losing the initiative”, and, unfortunately, again, this seems to be what happened to a weary US president and his staff…….:+(

“Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who are actively preparing for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. Survivalists often acquire emergency medical and self-defense training, stockpile food and water, prepare to become self-sufficient, and build structures (e.g., a survival retreat or an underground shelter) that may help them survive a catastrophe.Anticipated disruptions may include:

Very few people want to be “associated” with those “wackos”, BUT, “survivalists” gears and supplies sales increase, even consulting services, since the World Economic Crisis and, more recently, the wars and Ebola, seem to contradict the official view version of “survivalism”……..

“Times are a changin”…….

“Preppers” and ‘Survivalism” may be considered the ‘rock-n-rollers” of the “alternative technology” and “appropriate technology” movement………;+)

At another level it is the dynamic between “autarky” and “globalization”………

“Alternative technology is a term used to refer to technologies that are more environmentally friendly than the functionally equivalent technologies dominant in current practice.”

“Some “alternative technologies” have in the past or may in the future become widely adopted, after which they might no longer be considered “alternative.” For example the use of wind turbines to produce electricity.”

“Appropriate technology is an ideological movement (and its manifestations) originally articulated as intermediate technology by the economist Dr. Ernst Friedrich “Fritz” Schumacher in his influential work, Small is Beautiful.Though the nuances of appropriate technology vary between fields and applications, it is generally recognized as encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, decentralized, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sound, and locally controlled. Both Schumacher and many modern-day proponents of appropriate technology also emphasize the technology as people-centered.“

“Appropriate technology is most commonly discussed in its relationship to economic development and as an alternative to transfers of capital-intensive technology from industrialized nations to developing countries. However, appropriate technology movements can be found in both developing and developed countries. In developed countries, the appropriate technology movement grew out of the energy crisis of the 1970s and focuses mainly on environmental and sustainability issues.“

“Autarky is the quality of being self-sufficient. Usually the term is applied to political states or their economic systems. Autarky exists whenever an entity can survive or continue its activities without external assistance or international trade. If a self-sufficient economy also refuses all trade with the outside world then it is called a closed economy.“

“Autarky is not necessarily an economic phenomenon; for example, a military autarky would be a state that could defend itself without help from another country, or could manufacture all of its weapons without any imports from the outside world.”

“Autarky can be said to be the policy of a state or other entity when it seeks to be self-sufficient as a whole, but also can be limited to a narrow field such as possession of a key raw material. For example, many countries have a policy of autarky with respect to foodstuffs and water for national security reasons.”

“Globalization is the process of increasing interconnectedness between regions and individuals. Steps toward globalization include economic, political, technological, social, and cultural connections around the world. The term “archaic” can be described as early ideals and functions that were once historically apparent in society but may have disintegrated over time. There are three main prerequisites for globalization to occur. The first is the idea of Eastern Origins, which shows how Western states have adapted and implemented learned principals from the East. Without the traditional ideas from the East, Western globalization would not have emerged the way it did. The second is distance. The interactions amongst states were not on a global scale and most often were confined to Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and certain parts of Europe. With early globalization it was difficult for states to interact with others that were not within close proximity. Eventually, technological advances allowed states to learn of others existence and another phase of globalization was able to occur. The third has to do with interdependency, stability and regularity. If a state is not dependent on another then there is no way for them to be mutually affected by one another. This is one of the driving forces behind global connections and trade; without either globalization would not have emerged the way it did and states would still be dependent on their own production and resources to function. This is one of the arguments surrounding the idea of early globalization. It is argued that archaic globalization did not function in a similar manner to modern globalization because states were not as interdependent on others as they are today.“

“Globalization (or globalisation) is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas and other aspects of culture. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the telegraphand its posterity the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities.”“Though scholars place the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long before the European age of discovery and voyages to the New World. Some even trace the origins to the third millennium BCE. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the connectedness of the world’s economies and cultures grew very quickly.”

“Anti-globalization, or counter-globalisation, consists of a number of criticisms of globalization but, in general, is critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism. The movement is also commonly referred to as the alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporateglobalization movement, or movement against neoliberal globalization. It can be explained as encompassing the ideologies present in the following other “movements”, which will be discussed below: opposition to capital market integration, social justice and inequality, anti-consumerism, anti-global governance and environmentalist opposition. Each of these ideologies can be framed around a specific strand of the anti-globalization movement, but in general the movement gears their efforts towards all of these primary principles. It is considered a rather new and modern day social movement, as the issues it is fighting against are relevant in today’s time. However, the events that occurred which fuels the movement can be traced back through the lineage of the movement of a 500-year old history of resistance against European colonialism and U.S. imperialism. This refers to the continent of Africa being colonized and stripped of their resources by the Europeans in the 19th century. It is also related closely with the anti-Vietnam war mobilizations between 1960 and1970, with worldwide protests against the adjustment of structure in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.”

“In general, opponents of globalization in developed countries are disproportionately middle-class and college-educated. This contrasts sharply with the situation in developing countries, where the anti-globalization movement has been more successful in enlisting a broader group, including millions of workers and farmers.”

“These supporters of the movement are aware of the unequal power and respect in terms of international trade between the developed and underdeveloped countries of the world. The activists that support the AGM, as mentioned previously before, can range in terms of the specific issue(s) that they oppose. Again, there are a few different dimensions of globalization: economic, political, cultural, ecological and ideological. The diverse subgroups that make up this movement include some of the following: trade unionists, environmentalists, anarchists, land rights and indigenous rights activists, organizations promoting human rights and sustainable development, opponents of privatization, and anti-sweatshop campaigners.”

“The dominant propaganda systems have appropriated the term “globalization” to refer to the specific version of international economic integration that they favor, which privileges the rights of investors and lenders, those of people being incidental. In accord with this usage, those who favor a different form of international integration, which privileges the rights of human beings, become “anti-globalist.” This is simply vulgar propaganda, like the term “anti-Soviet” used by the most disgusting commissars to refer to dissidents. It is not only vulgar, but idiotic. Take the World Social Forum (WSF), called “anti-globalization” in the propaganda system – which happens to include the media, the educated classes, etc., with rare exceptions. The WSF is a paradigm example of globalization. It is a gathering of huge numbers of people from all over the world, from just about every corner of life one can think of, apart from the extremely narrow highly privileged elites who meet at the competing World Economic Forum, and are called “pro-globalization” by the propaganda system.”

“D.A. Snow et al. contend that the anti-globalization movement is an example of a new social movement, which uses tactics that are unique and use different resources than previously used before in other social movements.[294] Actors of the movement participate in things such as disruptive tactics. These include flash mobs for example, which work extremely well in catching the attention of others and spreading awareness about the issue of globalization. There is also the spreading of information about the social movement through social media and word of mouth about NGOs, organizations and movement groups working to help alleviate the effects of globalization. Websites such as Twitter and Facebook have become a useful outlet for people to become aware of what is going on around the globe, any protests or tactics taking place and the progress of non-governmental organizations aiding in these impoverished countries.”

“One of the most infamous tactics of the movement is the Battle of Seattle in 1999, where there were protests against the World Trade Organization’s Third Ministerial Meeting. It can be described as being a massive group of passionate, grass roots people within the anti-globalization movement protesting against the WTO’s corporate rule. All over the world, the movement has held protests outside meetings of institutions such as the WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Group of Eight (G8). Within the Seattle demonstrations the protesters that participated used both creative and violent tactics to gain the attention towards the issue of globalization. It is still one of the most significant and memorable social movement protests in the past 20 years.”

“Whatever the cause – conspiracy or incompetence – the recent Ebola outbreak illustrates the dangers of centralized globalization, and opens the door to possible solutions.”

“Because of Ebola’s incubation period, screening at airports is perhaps the least effective measure a state could put in place. Instead, and it has been done throughout all of human history to contain contagious disease, nations with widespread infections should be quarantined – and travel bans placed on these nations by governments interested in preventing the spread of Ebola within their borders. Within an infected country, quarantines must be placed on areas where infections are present.”

“Despite the success quarantine has exhibited in the past, many Western policymakers have lobbied heavily against placing travel bans on infected countries or the notion of using quarantine procedures within infected countries. Open Society, a corporate-funded foundation that sponsors subversive political programs and so-called “civil society” within targeted countries, has been among the most vocal opponents of quarantining infected communities and countries.In an Open Society post titled, “Looking Past Quarantine to Community Health,” Open Society President Chris Stone claims:

“The current focus on quarantine presents a danger not only in the short run, but in the long run as well. Quarantine forces farmers to leave their fields, freezes air travel in African cities, and slows the flow of food and labor. These interruptions can touch off longer, more complex health crises in the countries where Ebola is already weakening systems.

Instead, the coalition that includes Partners In Health is training and equipping community-based health workers, with local partners such as Last Mile Health taking the lead. Community health workers are trusted neighbors who provide care while connected to a formal health system. This kind of community-based health response not only challenges the spread of Ebola and its fatality but also enables a new economic base and public health infrastructure.”

“In essence, economic progress within the context of “globalization” and the continued work of Western NGOs like Open Society in building their own administrative networks and infrastructure to control all sociopolitical and economic aspects within nations like Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, takes precedence over actually stopping the spread of Ebola. While the notion of building better and more prepared healthcare infrastructure in such nations should be a priority, it is a long-term goal that will have no affect on stemming the spread of Ebola currently.Ironically, Open Society, as well as many of its counterparts including, USAID and Médecins Sans Frontières also known as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), have been operating in the worst infected countries for years allegedly building this infrastructure, with MSF in particular having extensive experience with Ebola outbreaks. And, all of these organizations have collectively and categorically failed to prevent this latest outbreak for a multitude of reasons. In many ways, their attempt to integrate nations into their greater “international order” has set the stage for this outbreak, not prepared them better to prevent it.”

“International health organizations and NGOs that are not trusted are also not effective. What should be an immense asset for nations around the world, becomes instead a liability. The corruption, inefficiency, conspiracy, greed, manipulation, and exploitation bred by the immense centralization of power within the “globalization” model is, above all else, the chief cause of today’s deadly Ebola outbreak. Through either conspiracy or incompetence, Ebola has been allowed to first exploit weak healthcare and infrastructure in West Africa, and then spread beyond the continent through slow, ineffective measures enacted by criminally negligent governments.”

“Ultimately it doesn’t matter how this most recent outbreak began – it could have been prevented had nations like Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia possessed functioning, competent governments not subjected to both proxy and direct Western military intervention and all of the sociopolitical instability such intervention has caused. Had these nations possessed education systems capable of teaching their populations basic knowledge including aspects of personal health and hygiene, and had they possessed a viable economy to support self-sufficient development that would have drained the swamps of ignorance, poverty, and disease from which Ebola has risen, it is likely this most recent outbreak would have already been long ago contained.”

“If Ebola continues to spread, containing and treating patients – as well as quarantining areas the virus is spreading to – are the only effective methods on hand to stop it. Regardless of how this latest Ebola outbreak began, governments have failed to respond appropriately – leaving it to to people to protect themselves.”

“Stockpiling food and water and other essential supplies will be critical in quarantining ourselves if governments fail to do so. Intense monitoring and situational awareness by individuals and groups of organized individuals may help prepare communities to decide when extra precautions and self-imposed restrictions on movement may be required. Riding it out is of course an option of last resort, reserved when governments around the world have fully demonstrated their inability or unwillingness to stem the tide of this disease.”

“Michel Chossudovsky (born 1946) is a Canadian economist. He is a professor of economics at the University of Ottawa, and a published author.”

“Chossudovsky is the son of a Russian Jewish émigré, the career United Nations diplomat and academic Evgeny Chossudovsky (1914–2006), and an Irish Protestant Rachel Sullivan (d. 1996).”“Chossudovsky joined the University of Ottawa in 1968. He was a visiting professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile during the 1970–1973 government of Salvador Allende, and it was the effects of General Augusto Pinochet‘s post-coup policies which sparked his interest on “economic repression”. Pinochet’s government among other measures quadrupled the price of bread, and Chossudovsky set out to examine the social effects, concluding that the government was engaging not merely in conventional political repression, but also in “economic repression“. Chossudovsky subsequently examined these types of economic policies in a wide range of countries, often associated with International Monetary Fund and/or World Bank programs. One of Chossudovsky’s policy conclusions was the corrosive effect of tax havens, which he argued in a world of increasingly mobile capital had facilitated the “criminalization” of the global economy through movements of large amounts of drug money and other illegal finance: “This critical drain of billions of dollars in capital flight dramatically reduces state tax revenues, paralyses social programs, drives up budget deficits and spurs the accumulation of large public debts.””

“In 2001, Chossudovsky founded the Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), located in Montreal, Canada, becoming its editor and director. It describes itself as being “committed to curbing the tide of globalisation and disarming the new world order“. CRG maintains websites in several languages, including the English-language GlobalResearch.ca, which are critical of United States foreign policy and NATO as well as the official explanation of the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the war on terror. In a January 2012 article, he characterized the Free Syrian Army as “a de facto paramilitary creation of NATO.” Syrian president Bashar al-Assad e-mailed his father-in-law, Fawaz Akhras, to inquire how true Chossudovsky’s claims were. Chossudovsky also claimed that deaths of protesters in the Maidan Square in Kiev were “triggered by Neo-Nazi elements”, used “to break the legitimacy of a duly elected government.” He is a favoured commentator at Russia Today. His opinion is regularly asked for by Press TV. Chossudovsky is interviewed in the documentary filmThe Weight of Chains, of which the Centre for Research on Globalisation was one of the sponsors.”

It makes you wonder about potential Russian (and/or somebody else) “Ebola weaponization” coupled with online websites propaganda used to “de-stabilize” western civilization………:+(

“Reasonable” people need to keep their eyes and ears open and a well-functioning brain to “separate the wheat from the chaff”……….:+(